As many of you know, I spend most of my writing time at IceFire Hookah Lounge, because I love the friendly atmosphere and music. For my post today, I wanted to show how wonderful my experience at IceFire has been by introducing my friend, Danny Maloney, who DJs there.

At 19 years old, Danny Maloney DJs at IceFire Hookah Lounge and Llwellyn’s Bar. His mixes are involved in the Flohawke Label, an up-and-coming label from downtown Kansas City, and, most recently, he won a DJ competition at DanceFestopia in 2012.

His music and his passion is an inspiration to me, showing young adults can succeed at their dreams, so I interviewed him to encourage all of you to follow yours as well.

Enjoy! And listen to his mixes (which are fantastic.) I linked them below the interview, and I hope you hear his passion as much I as witness it every day.

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Tell me about yourself. What’s your passion, how old are you, and at what age did you find your passion or decide to stick with it? Was there a turning point where you knew this was your passion?

I’m 19. My passion is being a DJ and music in general. I found my passion when I was 16, but I decided to stick with it at 18, because I was DJ-ing for a rapper at the time. We did two concerts, opening for Vanilla Ice, and another show for Mac Miller. The concerts allowed me to realize I could truly follow my passion.

Photo by @TheTaylorLamb (twitter credit)

What are daily things in your life that you do in order to bring your passion out and inspire yourself?

I spend about an hour to two hours a day “digging,” which is searching through the internet for new tracks that I believe with become popular from artists on-the-rise. I also network as much as I can, especially for local DJs to help support the scene, and their passion as well as my own.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by the love for the music. Whether it’s a crazy bass-line or a harmonically beautiful melody, every day I’m inspired by any type of genre and decade of music. If I could have my way as a DJ, I would spin the 90’s, because I believe it’s the most passionate genre, such as Third Eye Blind, Everclear, and Blink-182 (etc.)

Finally, what would you say to someone else that would encourage them to follow their dreams, especially at a young age?

You can do it. If you have the drive, wants, need, and motivation, you can do it. If you don’t have all of those, then you certainly don’t want to pursue it for the rest of your life. This is what defines passion. If you don’t think, breathe, and dream your passion, then it’s obviously not something you want to make a living out of and do for the rest of your life.